Lubumbashi developers at work.
The best part of my job is the opportunity it gives me to meet, collaborate and work with extraordinary people, initiatives and teams. Let me tell you one of these stories here.
When we and Sultani Makutano decided to launch the scholarships for Women in Science in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we had to quickly professionalize the database registration, the call and the management of applications.
Talented young people
I then had the opportunity to meet one of those young Congolese who are very active in Lubumbashi (Haut-Katanga province) in promoting Congolese digital skills, Samy Mwamba with his ITOT Africa initiative.
In the conversation, Samy told me that in Lubumbashi there are talented young people in digital (because we still think that Kinshasa is the center of everything) and that his team of developers had nothing to envy from Indian, European or other developers. In his opinion, there is no longer any reason for our local administrations and companies to rely mainly on foreign workers who are entrusted with large projects, leaving the local teams with the small business (Samy is not the only one to think so).
From words to deeds
Of course, he did not spare me the usual criticisms of our educational system which would be delayed by two wars, and of our teachers, lecturers and administrators who would be overwhelmed by this youth, by this modernity, by these (too) rapid changes...
OK, let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is!
I then decided to test them by entrusting them with the development of the Investing In People ASBL and Sultani Makutano Scholarship platform.
An evolving project
Samy as Project Manager has professionally led the development of the platform. They did not hesitate to make us proposals to improve the project. They listen to us and are available to answer our concerns and make the necessary changes.
They and us are in a similar state of mind, the platform is in a process of evolution. We make sure that the launched version works perfectly and we stay tuned to the users in order to improve the customer experience.
Mutual trust and respect
It is this co-learning process that I particularly like. We learn from each other's experiences in a spirit of trust and mutual respect.
Samy Mwamba and his team are young people who are committed and determined to disrupt our old world.
A proud Congolese team with a beautiful slogan "What you miss is Us"!
Betting on young people
Do like us, trust these young people in Lubumbashi, Goma, Kinshasa and elsewhere. Entrust them with your best projects so that they are better than the best you would have identified elsewhere. Offer them conditions that allow them to keep the pleasure of doing what they love to do.
And if you want to meet Samy, he will be at the 7th edition of the Science and Technology Week in Kinshasa from 17th to 22nd April 2020.
Science is fun, join us! 😊
This post was first published on LinkedIn. It has been translated in English by Afriscitech.